Without the ability to feel pain, life is more dangerous. To avoid injury, pain tells us to use a hammer more gently, wait for the soup to cool or put on gloves in a snowball fight. Those with rare inherited disorders that leave them without the ability to feel pain are unable to protect themselves from environmental threats, leading to broken bones, damaged skin, infections and ultimately a shorter life span.In these contexts, pain is much more than a sensation: It is a protective call to action. But pain that is too intense or long-lasting can be debilitating.

The Importance Of Pain

While the brain uses different pain signaling pathways depending on the type of damage, there is also redundancy to these pathways. These neural pathways morph and amplify signals in the case of chronic pain and pain caused by conditions affecting nerves themselves, even though the protective function of pain is no longer needed.Painkillers work by tackling different parts of these pathways. Not every painkiller works for every type of pain.

The Neural Pathways

A bruise, sprain or broken bone from an injury all lead to tissue inflammation, an immune response that can lead to swelling and redness as the body tries to heal. Specialized nerve cells in the area of the injury called nociceptors sense the inflammatory chemicals the body produces and send pain signals to the brain.Common over-the-counter anti-inflammatory painkillers work by decreasing inflammation in the injured area. These are particularly useful for musculoskeletal injuries or other pain problems caused by inflammation such as arthritis.

Anti-Inflammatory Painkillers

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve) and aspirin do this by blocking an enzyme called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549795/">COX</a> that plays a key role in a biochemical cascade that produces inflammatory chemicals.Blocking the cascade decreases the amount of inflammatory chemicals, and thereby reduces the pain signals sent to the brain. While acetaminophen (Tylenol), also known as paracetamol, doesn’t reduce inflammation as NSAIDs do, it also inhibits COX enzymes and has similar pain-reducing effects.

The Usual Suspects In Killing Pain

Because inflammatory chemicals are involved in other important physiological functions beyond just sounding the pain alarm, medications that block them will have side effects and potential health risks, including irritating the stomach lining and affecting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/01.hyp.0000116221.27079.ea">kidney function</a>. <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002123.htm">Over-the-counter medications</a> are generally safe if the directions on the bottle are followed strictly.

Side Effects Are There, Of Course

<a href="https://www.verywellhealth.com/using-corticosteroids-for-pain-control-2564537">Corticosteroids</a> like prednisone block the inflammatory cascade early on in the process, which is probably why they are so potent in reducing inflammation.However, because all the chemicals in the cascade are present in nearly every organ system, long-term use of steroids can pose many health risks that need to be discussed with a physician before starting a treatment plan.

Reducing Inflammation

Many topical medications target nociceptors, the specialized nerves that detect tissue damage. Local anesthetics, like lidocaine, prevent these nerves from sending electrical signals to the brain.The protein sensors on the tips of other sensory neurons in the skin are also targets for topical painkillers. Activating these proteins can elicit particular sensations that can lessen the pain by reducing the activity of the damage-sensing nerves, like the cooling sensation of menthol or the burning sensation of capsaicin.

Topical Medications

Nerve injuries, most commonly from arthritis and diabetes, can cause the pain-sensing part of the nervous system to become overactive. These injuries sound the pain alarm even in the absence of tissue damage. The best painkillers in these conditions are those that dampen that alarm.Antiepileptic drugs, such as gabapentin (Neurontin), suppress the pain-sensing system by blocking electrical signaling in the nerves. However, gabapentin can also reduce nerve activity in other parts of the nervous system, potentially leading to sleepiness and confusion.

Nerve Injury Medications

<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/pain-medications/art-20045647">Antidepressants</a>, such as duloxetine and nortriptyline, are thought to work by increasing certain neurotransmitters in the spinal cord and brain involved in regulating pain pathways. But they may also alter chemical signalling in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to an upset stomach.Opioids decrease pain by activating the body’s endorphin system. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470306/">Endorphins</a> are a type of opioid your body naturally produces that decreases incoming signals of injury and produces feelings of euphoria – the so-called “runner’s high.” Opioids simulate the effects of endorphins.

Antidepressants and Opiods

Although opioids can decrease some types of acute pain, such as after surgery, musculoskeletal injuries like a broken leg or cancer pain, they are often ineffective for neuropathic injuries and chronic pain.Because the body uses opioid receptors in other organ systems like the gastrointestinal tract and the lungs, side effects and risks include constipation and potentially fatal suppression of breathing. All opioids are controlled substances and are carefully prescribed by doctors because of these side effects and risks.

Opioids Are Harmful If Taken Long Term

Although cannabis has received a lot of attention for its potential medical uses, there isn’t sufficient evidence available to conclude that it can effectively treat pain. Since the use of cannabis is illegal at the federal level in the U.S., high-quality clinical research funded by the federal government has been lacking.Researchers do know that the body naturally produces endocannabinoids, a form of the chemicals in cannabis, to decrease pain perception. Cannabinoids may also reduce inflammation.

Cannabinoids

While sounding the pain alarm is important for survival, dampening the klaxon when it’s too loud or unhelpful is sometimes necessary.No existing medication can perfectly treat pain. Matching specific types of pain to drugs that target specific pathways can improve pain relief, but even then, medications can fail to work even for people with the same condition. More research that deepens the medical field’s understanding of the pain pathways and targets in the body can help lead to more effective treatments and improved pain management.

Matching Pain to Drug

Painkillers work by tackling different parts of these pathways. Not every painkiller works for every type of pain, however.

health

Health

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

How do painkillers actually kill pain?

This is a thought pattern in which our emotional reactions, or our feelings, lead us to believe that something is true even when the empirical evidence tells us otherwise. Emotional reasoning is very common in the workplace. If you have ever found yourself thinking, “I know this project will fail because I feel scared,” or “I know my manager must dislike me because I feel unappreciated,” or “I know my colleague has been hiding something because I feel suspicious,” then you have already experienced emotional reasoning.

Emotional reasoning

Recent research described emotional reasoning as a mechanism that “can lead people to take their emotions as information about the external world, even when the emotion is not generated by the situation to be evaluated.” This leads to inaccurate emotional truths which directly contradict any objective, perceptual truths.

Taking our emotions as information

The process involves challenging your emotional beliefs so that automatic thoughts are interrogated before being accepted.<ul><li>Practice validity testing. If you feel sure that your work has not been of the expected standard, you must search for objective evidence to prove that this belief is true.</li><li>Write in a journal. Journaling is a great way to pay attention to your thought patterns.</li><li>Discuss your emotions. If you feel anxious about work, you may struggle to accurately assess your performance. Talking to a trusted colleague or friend about your concerns could give you a much-needed objective view.</li></ul>

How to avoid emotional reasoning

The problem with emotional reasoning is that it can lead to worsening feelings of anxiety, fear or worry in situations that are already stressful.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

problemsolving

Problem Solving

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

The danger of emotional reasoning and using our emotions as proof

Managing many projects at once can make it difficult for designers to cultivate the creativity they need. You can wait around for inspiration to strike, or you can get a head start.Learn how to create your best work yet with a mobile-friendly design lifestyle that helps you maximize your creative potential, no matter where you are.

Staying creative on‑the‑go

You may have always dreamed of going on the road and working while you travel, but mobile setups are crucial for those who don’t work in a typical office setting. For mobility to be comfortable, the setup you use must be portable and functional.Graphic designers need durable, reliable hardware that is easy to transport with colour-accurate displays.

Invest in a mobile-friendly workspace designed for you

To give your fullest attention to your creative activities, it’s important not to ignore the administrative tasks, but to embrace them and control the processes.Investing some time upfront to manage the “not-so-fun” work such as client communication, project management, payment collections, and accounting, and you’ll have more creative time later. You will be able to spend more time creating if you automate as many of these processes as possible.

Automate your processes

The importance of relationships, even virtual ones, in these times of disconnect and “remoteness” cannot be underestimated.Connecting with and supporting one another for inspiration, feedback, or simply social interaction is so important for distributed creatives. Online communities can be great facilitators for all of your needs as a creative on the go.

Cultivate your creative community

At the end of the day, the most important thing to do is invest in the tools and resources that will allow you to tap into your full creative potential. Seek out the tools that facilitate your mobile lifestyle, help to make your non-creative processes easier, and allow you to strengthen your creative communities.

Take your creativity wherever you go

Staying creative on-the-go: 3 essential tips for designers

creativity

Creativity

product

Product & Design

A Eureka moment, also known as that "Aha!" moment, is that sudden realisation that you found a solution to a problem. Eureka loosely translates to "I have found it!" It is that sudden clarity you feel at solving a puzzle or understanding a problem. Eureka moments appear out of nowhere when you are not consciously thinking about the problem.

The Eureka moment

Scientists found that memory cues and sleep can cause eureka moments. Researchers also agree that some period of incubation is often necessary before the eureka moment can happen. During the incubation period, your mind should roam freely, such as when showering or gardening. By creating the right environment, you can encourage your brain to enter the incubation period that can increase your chances of finding a solution.

Theories on why eureka moments occur

First, you need to have fully explored the problem at hand. Only when you reach a dead-end are you at a place to solve the problem subconsciously. <ul><li>Seek solitude, such as when showering, running, or driving the car. Allow your mind to wander freely.</li><li>Sit with the idea. Let the problem ruminate overnight or for a few days or weeks.</li><li>Get some sleep. Sleep processes and consolidates previous events.</li><li>Seek inspiration. For example, visit art galleries, walk in nature, listen to music, write in a journal.</li></ul>

How to have more eureka moments

Eureka moments can lead to creative discoveries, the triumphant completion of a project, or the sudden, clear insight into how to make your business succeed. Let’s have a look at the scientific foundation of eureka moments.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

The science of eureka moments

<ul>
<li>Gaining knowledge isn’t the only reason we have to read books. </li>
<li>A good book read with curiosity and an open mind can change our life.</li>
<li>Reading books is like updating the software inside your brain, and a good book gives us new ways to interpret our past and present life.</li>
<li>It is also a good idea to quit reading books that serve no purpose, as the opportunity cost is high. </li>
<li>Life is short and should be spent reading the best books possible.</li>
<li>Read the good ones more than once.</li>
</ul>

Reading Books Is Like Changing Your Past

One needs to pick and choose books that can make us quickly implement the advice provided by the book. If the stuff written in the book resonates with you and you want to instantly try it out in the practical world(like waking up at 5:00 am after reading The 5 am Club), then you are more likely to benefit from it.

Choose What You Can Use

An idea is useful only if we can find it when we need it, and the best way for saving ideas is to keep notes of what we read, using Deepstash of course!Important messages, insights and points need to be saved and reread, as it is the only way they will be in your long-term memory. Otherwise, most of the stuff we read is forgotten the next day.

Creating Searchable Notes

A book is not an island, but a ‘knowledge tree’ with branches that can be linked to other knowledge trees, forming a connection beyond what the book offers us. When we read something that reminds us of something else, we get a spark that connects to other ideas, forming new fractal insights that are unique to our mind.

Combining Knowledge Trees

One can make use of Deepstash and summarize a book using the Feynman note-taking technique. Write a few paragraphs about the book as if you are explaining it to someone who has not heard about it.Explaining an idea to a beginner is the best way to learn and also reveals the gaps in our thinking.

The Feynman Technique To Summarize A Book

Reading just one book and forming a belief system is plain stupidity. A book is not a commandment by itself but something that opens up our mind towards new ways of thinking. A mind needs to be subjected to diverse books, otherwise, it forms a personal belief system based on little or no experience.Even one subject has to be seen by the lens of various authors to be understood.

One Book Isn’t Enough

Anything worth reading is worth reading twice, or even again and again. Just like a great song sounds better after you have listened to it a few times, a great book will give you new insights every time you read it. You will find older passages and ideas relevant to you which were ignored when you first read the book. This is because you would be at a different point in your life.Returning to great ideas cements it in our minds.

Reading The Book Twice

“Learning one new idea won’t make you a genius, but a commitment to lifelong learning can be transformative.”

It's important to read books, but it's just as important to remember what you read. Read this article to learn three reading comprehension strategies.

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

education

Learning & Education

Reading Comprehension: How to Retain More of Every Book You Read

The new reality of success: embracing a diverse range of skills and experiences to thrive in the increasingly complex world.
Great men like Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs and Leonardo Da Vinci were not masters, but had a ‘talent stack’ of a range of skills. These Polymaths were having cross-discipline expertise, which turned out to be infinitely better than having complete knowledge of one single field of work.

Talent Stack: Skills For The Future

In this age, make yourself indispensable by being ‘pretty good’ in two or more skillsets, making yourself among the top 25 percent with some amount of effort. That’s easier than putting in 10,000 hours in one skill to attain mastery.
Taking the example of Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of many books. He is not the best cartoonist, and not the funniest person. However, he can draw better than many of us, and is funny enough. These two skill sets (1 and 1) create a talent stack and become 11, instead of 2.

Make Yourself Rare

It’s never been easier to learn new skills than in the present age. One can become a polymath by simply identifying the key skill sets that are doable and interesting (depending on one’s background and inclination) and learning them by taking up online courses. It’s not about the degree or certification, but the actual learning.
Example: If you are a programmer, you could become a polymath by learning about User Experience and Design of applications.

Digital Learning

"The world is most interesting when we can see the complex patterns that connect its different parts to one another. And we can’t truly do that unless we look beyond the boundaries and the compartments of singular disciplines and singular ways of thinking about reality."

Our present education systems are domain and subject specific, making it hard for us to explore multiple domains. Most of us give in to the rigidity of developing a certain skill, unable to build complementary skills and learning agility.
We need to connect knowledge of different domains and make it fluid, accessible and flexible. Then, just like a kaleidoscope design pattern, we will become unique and beautiful.

From Rigidity To Fluidity

Range over mastery — people who embrace diverse skills, experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive

career

Career

The Polymath Advantage

The Morning Pages technique acts as a mind dump to get rid of the clutter in your brain. 
<ul>
<li>Every morning, take a pen and 3 blank pages and fill up those free blank pages with words. </li>
<li>This makes you slow down at the start of the day and clear your mind of all the junk that's floating around in it.</li>
</ul>

Morning Pages for a productive day

Author and journalist Julia Cameron claims the secret to a productive day is actually a simple practice. Every morning, take a pen and three blank pages and write down whatever you want to fill those pages. She calls this practice the "Morning Pages," which act as a mind dump to get rid of the clutter in your brain.

productivity

Productivity

writing

Reading & Writing

Write "Morning Pages" by Hand Every Day to Boost Productivity

Genius is not about having an extraordinarily high IQ, or even about being smart. It is not about finishing Mensa exercises in record time or mastering fourteen languages at the age of seven.Geniuses think productively, not reproductively. They ask "How many different ways can I look at it?" not "What have I been taught by someone else on how to solve this?"

Intelligence is not genius

Leonardo da Vinci believed you begin by learning how to restructure the problem by looking at it from many different angles.In order to creatively solve a problem, the thinker should not use the usual approach that is based on past experience. Geniuses use several different perspectives to solve an existing problem and thereby also identify new ones.

Geniuses and problem solving

Galileo Galilei revolutionized science by making his idea visible with diagrams, maps, and drawings. Einstein believed that words and numbers as they are spoken did not play a significant role in his thinking process.Geniuses seem to develop a skill to display information in visual and spatial forms, rather than only mathematical or verbal lines.

Making your thoughts visible

One characteristic that stands out in geniuses is immense productivity. Thomas Edison held 1,903 patents. Bach wrote a cantata every week, regardless of sickness. Mozart produced over 600 pieces of music. Einstein published 249 papers.Out of the vast quantity of work came quality.

Geniuses produce

Geniuses form more novel combinations than talented people.They continually combine and recombine ideas, images, and thoughts into different combinations.

Forming unique combinations

Geniuses force relationships that enable them to see things to which others are blind.Leonardo da Vinci forced the relationship between the sound of a bell and a stone hitting water, to make the connection that sound travels in waves.

Connecting the unconnected

Geniuses can tolerate contradictory ideas, between opposites or two incompatible subjects.Mixing opposites creates the conditions to discover a new relationship or a new point of view.

Thinking in opposites

<ul><li>Aristotle believed that the person who could see resemblances between two separate areas of existence and link them was a genius.</li><li>If unlike things are really alike in some ways, perhaps, they are so in others. Underwater construction was made possible by noticing how shipworms tunnel into timber by first constructing tubes.</li><li>Einstein used the analogies of everyday occurrences to explain abstract principles.</li></ul>

Thinking metaphorically

Whenever we attempt to do something and fail, we end up doing something else.Instead of asking why we failed to do what we intended, the creative accident asks 'what have we done?' This produces a creative insight of the highest order.

Creative accidents

Practical exercises, tools and concepts to help you develop and enhance your creative thinking 

books

Books

communication

Communication

Unlocking your Creative Potential

How do geniuses come up with ideas? What is common to the thinking style that produced "Mona Lisa," as well as the one that spawned the theory of relativity? What characterizes the thinking strategies of the Einsteins, Edisons, daVincis, Darwins, Picassos, Michelangelos, Galileos, Freuds, and Mozarts of history?

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

How Geniuses Think

We know that learning is about knowledge, information, and skills; while habits are routines, behaviors, and actions. But the two are actually quite similar to each other. 
Habit and learning have the same equation used when dealing with specific situations:
<ul>
<li>Habit: "When X happens, I do Y." </li>
<li>Learning: "When A is mentioned, in context of whatever is asked of A, I produce the correct answer that is B." </li>
</ul>
Both habit and learning are complicated with varying responses but often have an automated response.

Learning = Habits

When we mention habits, we automatically think of routine behaviors done to achieve a certain outcome, whereas learning is thought to be more of a conscious process. 
Habitual actions have a strong default and it is strikingly similar to that of learning. For example, when you encounter a familiar problem, the predominant tendency is to apply the techniques you've learned before. When solving a problem in a novel way, it takes effort... the same way on breaking out of a habitual groove.

The Superficial Difference Between Habits and Learning

<ul>
<li>When habits form, they form a strong sequence of connections with neurons that downstream synapses in which were the later ones being fired with a higher probability than the first. </li>
<li>Learning happens when associations of one long-term memory become tightly coupled with another. </li>
</ul>
Though they may be seen as broad categories that are nuanced, they overlap considerably instead of being two separate domains.

The Neuroscience of Habits and Learning

Learning isn't just the process of storing information, but it is also a process where we can prepare particular actions for certain contexts. Learning is cue-driven and context-based, as much as habit-formation.
By seeing habits-as-learning, we then recognize that what we do is not only a matter of self-discipline but also of exploration and experimentation. When we begin to see learning and habits for what they are we can then use this knowledge to learn better and make better habits.

Changing The Narrative

Learning something new and making a habit is more closely related than you might think. You can leverage this fact to learn faster and make better habits.

habits

Habits

timemanagement

Time Management

The Hidden Connection Between Habits and Learning

Reverse brainstorming is used when it is difficult to identify solutions to the problem directly. It involves combining brainstorming and reversal techniques. 
Start with one of two reverse questions.
<ul>
<li>Instead of asking "How do I solve or prevent this problem?" ask, "How could I cause the problem?"</li>
<li>Instead of asking "How do I achieve these results?" ask, "How could I achieve the opposite?"</li>
</ul>

Reverse Brainstorming

<ul>
<li>Identify the problem and write it down.</li>
<li>Reverse the problem. Ask how you can cause the problem (instead of how you can solve the problem)</li>
<li>Brainstorm the reverse problem to produce reverse solution ideas. Accept all ideas at this stage.</li>
<li>Now reverse your brainstormed ideas into solution ideas for the original problem or challenge.</li>
<li>Evaluate these solution ideas. Can you see a potential solution?</li>
</ul>

How to Use the Reverse Brainstorming Tool

Reverse brain-storming helps you solve problems by combining brainstorming and reversal techniques.

How do painkillers actually kill pain?

The danger of emotional reasoning and using our emotions as proof

Staying creative on-the-go: 3 essential tips for designers

The science of eureka moments

Reading Comprehension: How to Retain More of Every Book You Read

Colton F.